Automatic feed for woodworking-machines.



Patented July 23, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Inventor Attorneys W. H. PRIDGEN.

MM. v M

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1911.

9mm/Nm MN J AUTOMATIC FEED PoR WooDWoRKING MACHINES.

Witnesses w. H. PRIDGEN. AUTOMATIC PED FOR WOODWORKING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1911.

1,033,732. Patented July 23, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' Inventor y V l I ttorneys W. H. PRIDGEN.

AUTOMATIC FEED FOR WOODWORKING MACHINES.

APPLIUATION FILED MAR. 4, 1911.

Patented July 23, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WWZQKZ Witnesses ventor Attorneys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILEY I-I. PRIDGEN, OF CREEK, NORTH CAROLINA.

AUTOMATIC FEED FOR WOODWORKING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 23, 1912,

Application filed March 4, 1911.

Serial No'. v 612,422.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILEY H. PRIDGEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Creek, in the county of Warren and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Automatic Feed for Woodworking- Machines, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to automatic feeds for woodworking machines and more particularly to means whereby the stock may be fed intermittently to the cutting mechanism, the length of movement of the stock being equal to the length of the cut so that waste of material will be reduced to the minimum.

A further object is to provide anti-friction devices for guiding the stock'while it is being fed and also during the cutting operation, these guide devices serving to firmly hold the stock against lateral `displacement without retarding its movement to an objectionable extent.

A further object is to provide means whereby the length of movement of the stock during each feeding operation can be varied.

I-Ieretofore, in the manufacture of basket bottoms and the like, it has been practically impossible to so feed the stock as to bring the cuts together and thus eliminate waste of the stock between cuts. Basket bottoms are usually produced by means of toothed rings which are directed, while rotating against the stock so as to cut out circular disks. In order to reduce wasteto the minimum it is necessary to have the successive cuts come together as otherwise there would be unused strips of stock left between the cuts and fewer disks therefore to be produced than where the cuts communicate. Moreover it has been practically impossible, heretofore, to form basket bottoms accurately out of more than one strip as it has been diflicult to hold the strips together during the cutting operation.

Oneof the objects of the present invention is to provide feeding mechanism whereby the'stock can be accurately fed to the cutter, said mechanism being so timed that the cuts produced will communicate and there will be no waste of material such as generally occurs between cuts.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the stock can be gripped at its sides while being fed to the cutting mechanism, this permitting two or more strips to be used in making up the stock to be fed to the cutters.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what i's claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings Figure l is a side elevation of the feed mechanism constituting the present invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line A-B Eig. l. Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal section through the machine. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section showing, in plan, the gears utilized for driving the guide rolls. Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevation of one of the rack driven gears and showing its clutch connection with its shaft. Fig. 7 is a section through the parts shown in Fig. 6, said section being taken on the line C Referring to the figures by characters of reference l designates the supporting frame of a table, said frame including angle members 2 along the sides of the top of the frame, these angle members being connected by cross strips 3 on which the table top 4 is supported.

The members 2 are extended laterally at points between their ends, as indicated at 5, these laterally projecting portions constituting supports for standards 6 each having a longitudinal slot 7 in which a journal box 8 is slidably mounted. Springs 9 are arranged within the upper portions of the slots and bear downwardly upon the journal boxes, there being adjusting screws 10 mounted within the upper portions of the standards and constituting means for varying the stress of the springs 9. The boxes 8 have a shaft l1 journaled within them, this shaft extending through and being secured to a longitudinally corrugated feed roll 12. Gears 13 are secured to the shaft adjacent the outer faces of the standards and these gears mesh with corresponding gears 14 secured to a shaft l5 which is j ournaled in the extensions 5 and has a longitudinally corrugated feed roll 16 secured to it and arranged under and close to the roll 12. As shown in Fig. 4 the table top 4 does not extend between the feed rolls 12 and 16 but terminates adjacent the pass between the rolls.

Shaft 15 extends beyond one of the gears 14 and has a disk 17 keyed or otherwise secured thereto, said disk carrying oppositely disposed spring pressed pawls 18. A gear 19 is loosely mounted on the shaft and has an annular series of ratchet teeth 20 extending around the disk 17 and adapted to be engaged by the pawls 18 so that, when gear 19 is rotated in onedirection, the disk 17 and its shaft 15 will be rotated therewith but, when said gear 19 is rotated in the' opposite direction, the teeth 20 will slip over the pawls 18 andthe disk 17 and shaft 15 will remain stationary. f The construction of the ratchets and pawls has been clearly indicated in Figs. 6 and 7.

Arranged on one side of the supporting frame 1 are guides 21 in which a rack bar 22 is slidablymounted, this bar having teeth upon its upper and lower faces, the upper series of teeth being-adapted to mesh with thegear 19 hereinbefore described. A pitman 23 is pivotally connected to one end of the rack bar and is also pivotally mounted upon a wrist pin 24 adjustably mounted within a slot 25 extending radially within a disk 26. This wrist pin may be secured in any position to which it may be adjust-ed, by tightening a nut 27. Obviously by shifting the wrist pin toward or away from the center of the disk 26, the movement of the pitman and of the rack bar can be varied. Disk 26 is secured to a shaft 28 preferably provided with a pulley 29 adapted to be driven by a belt not shown.

The lower teeth on the rack bar 22 are adapted to engage gears 30 loosely mounted on transverse shafts 31 and each having an internal series of ratchet teeth 32 adapted to be engaged by spring pressed pawls 33 which, in turn, are mounted upon a disk 34 keyed or otherwise secured to the shafts 31. The pawls and ratchets are so arranged that, when the rack bar is moved in one direction, the gears will be rotated freely upon the shafts 31 but, when the rack bar is moved in the opposite direction, the teeth on said gears will move against the pawls and thus cause the disks 34 and the shafts 31 to be rotated. Each of the shafts 31 has gears 35 secured thereto and meshing with gears 36 secured to the lower ends of shafts 37 which, as will be seen in Fig. 3, extend outside of the angle members 2 and are provided, at their upper ends, with rolls 38, the peripheries of which lie close to and project above the top 4. rl`hese rolls are arranged in pairs, as will be seen by referring particularly to Fig. 2, the rolls of each pair being disposed yover the pawls engaging the same while each movement of the rack bar in the opposite direction will cause the simultaneous actuation of the shafts 15 and 31. The amount of rotation of the shafts is dependent upon the stroke of the rack bar and this stroke can be varied by shifting wrist pin 24 toward or away from the shaft 28. It is designed to make the stroke of such length as to shift the stock along the top 4 a distance exactly equal to the length of the cut. The stock to be cut is placed on the top 4 be- 85 tween the rolls 38 constituting one pair and these rolls will frictionally engage opposite edge portions of the stock and during the rotation of the shafts 37, said rolls will shift the stock into the pass between the corrugated rolls 12 and 16. These corrugated rolls will automatically grip the stock, the springs 9 permitting the upper roll 12 to move upwardly relative to the lower roll 16. The teeth on the gears 13 and 15 are sufficiently long to permit this movement without resulting in the disengagement of the gears. As the rolls are intermittently actuated during the strokes of the rack bar in one direction, the stock is fed forwardly with an intermittent motion, and, when the feed mechanism is used in connection with a rotary cutter or the like such as employed for producing basket bottoms, the cutting operation will take place while the various rolls are at rest during the return strokes of the rack bar. The rolls 38 serve to properly guide the stock during its movement and prevent it from swinging or shifting laterally during its movement and during the cutting operation. As these rolls 38 operate in unison with the rolls 12 and 16, it will be apparent that they both feed and guide the stock and do vnot in anywise retard it in its movement along the table top. Moreover'by utilizing 115 side feed and guide rolls, two or more parallel strips can be placed on the table and properly guided to the cutting mechanism without becoming displaced relative to each other.

Although the feed mechanism has been described as used in connection with a cutter, it is to be understood that it can be used in connection with any other kind of woodworking machinery, such as stapling de- 125 vices, etc. Moreover any desired number of guide rolls may be provided for engaging the side portions of the stock and these rolls can be arranged at either or both sides of the corrugated feed rolls.

What is claimed is A machine for simultaneously feeding separate strips of stock, including a table made up of spaced sections, spaced pairs of guide rolls, the rolls of each pair being lo cated at opposite sides respectively of the table, upper and lower feed rolls extending transversely of the table above and below the space between the table sections and between the two pairs of guide rolls, and means for intermittently rotating the feed and guide rolls in unison for directing stock along the table in one direction, said guide rolls coperating to prevent lateral swinging of the stock when subjected to the thrust exerted by the feed rolls.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILEY H. PRIDGEN.

Witnesses:

FRANK B. OGHSENREITER, HERBERT D. LAWSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

